Syrian Cyber-Attacks Expose Activists, Firms to Malware Infection - eWeek

eWeek, By Rob Lemos

Hacking groups operating from Syria, Russia and Lebanon have targeted activists on both sides of the Syrian civil war with malware campaigns, says security firm Kaspersky.

Groups of attackers have targeted activists on both sides of the Syrian civil war with a new malware campaign that, while not particularly sophisticated, has grown to compromise more than 10,000 systems, according to researchers from Kaspersky Labs, which analyzed more than 100 files used by group.

The attackers have sent messages through social networks, such as Skype, YouTube and Facebook, as well as phishing emails that include links to fake security and privacy programs that claim to help the recipient communicate securely. Most of the actual malware tools uploaded to victims' computers appear to be common programs found in underground forums, according to the analysis by Kaspersky. Read more.